The corporate governance team at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is engaged by boards, committees, management, shareholders and companies for advice on corporate governance issues, such as board operations, director responsibilities, and shareholder relations. The group combines the expertise of the firm's captial markets, M&A, executive compensation, activism, tax and enforcement practices to fully assist clients. It aids clients with SEC reporting responsibilities, disclosures, governance charters and policy drafting as well as shareholder matters. Francesca Odell spearheads the team in New York and leads on corporate governance and reporting matters, advising boards of directors and management. Jeffrey Karpf focuses on board structure issues and board practices, while co-head Helena Grannis is the go-to for corporate advisory issues, often handling sensitive issues such as emergency succession matters and shareholder engagement. The team was recently strengthened with the arrival of J.T. Ho from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe who resides in San Francisco. He focuses on advising public companies and boards on corporate governance, shareholder activism and securities reporting.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Team is business-minded and bases their advice on the company and business.’
‘Jennifer Kennedy Park and Joon Kim are the best in their field. Both have great experience and have the ability to zone in on the details but also zone out in looking at the bigger picture and business.'
‘Team is super engaged in the client business, they have the necessary flexibility to adapt to company´s risk tolerance. They are very experts in their field, they bring expertise to the table is necessary and they are innovators as a law firm.’
‘Francesca Odell and Natalia Rezai are usually on-board in the governance discussion. They know the company, the challenges, the risk tolerance and they know exactly what to advise to improve.’
‘Smart and experienced capital markets (debt & equity) team. Pleasure to work with.’
‘Team was strong from top to bottom, which is rare in a large firm and distinguishes Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton from other firms. J.T. Ho has good judgment and assembled the deal team.'
Key clients
- Albany International Corp.
- American Tower Corporation
- Casey’s General Stores, Inc.
- Consolidated Edison, Inc.
- Corebridge Financial, Inc.
- Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
- Dentsply Sirona Inc.
- Elbit Systems Ltd.
- Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc.
- Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V.
- Gen Digital Inc.
- GlobalFoundries Inc.
Work highlights
Advised Cushman & Wakefield on its redomiciliation from England and Wales to Bermuda.
Advised Corebridge Financial on an ongoing basis on corporate governance, board and management succession planning, executive compensation, say on pay, and other matters.
Advised MercadoLibre on corporate governance, securities reporting, executive compensation, universal shelf registration statement, and other corporate matters.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Francesca Odell; Helena Grannis
Other key lawyers
Jeffrey Karpf; Lillian Tsu; Jennifer Kennedy Park; Joon Kim; Natalia Rezai; J.T. Ho